I polished off the one beer, grateful she’d brought another. “Yeah, well, that proved I was a shithead. Anyway, she lived about another month and it drained the savings, both mine and hers, but I’m glad I was able to help. With Aimee being so young, I had a choice of tracking my deadbeat dad or being my sister’s caretaker. I chose to leave the Army and don’t regret it.”
Grace’s mouth twitched in appreciation, the single squeeze of my arm allowing me to breathe.
“Things were good. I started working as s contractor and also volunteered at the local fire department. Years passed and we made it work, although Aimee had the same blood in her, a little wild child.” At least I could laugh when remembering her. “She reminded me a little of you, independent and feisty with a heart of gold.”
“If you’re trying to win points, you’re not doing too badly.” Grace sipped her wine, acting as if she was mesmerized by the story.
“She’d just turned eighteen and I was even thinking about taking the exam to become a fulltime firefighter. We’d started talking about college. She was smart enough to get a couplescholarships. I was so proud of her. Then everything changed in the blink of an eye. Aimee started staying out late, avoiding talking to me. Always on her phone. When pushed, she grew angry.”
“She was seeing someone.”
“Yep. And given I was working two jobs, I didn’t pay close enough attention. Suddenly she was in love.”
“And because she was an adult, she threw you a bit of shade, not wanting to hear a single piece of advice.”
The second beer was going down way too easily. With a heavy sigh, I leaned forward, shifting the bottle back and forth. “Let me guess. You were that way.”
“I was. Mike Jenson. I was going to marry him. A high school crush and nothing more. A prom date that turned out to be a big mistake.” She pouted her lips. “He dumped me for another girl who was… Let’s just say easier to deal with. A real jerk just like the guy I dated in college, Grant Summers. That’s a name for you.” Her winks were pronounced. I knew the meaning.
“What? Guys are jerks?” The single word ‘jerks’ was a complete growl coming from deep within my throat.
“Oh, don’t worry. My prom date was… not nice, but my daddy taught me how to take care of myself. Sadly, the marriage wouldn’t have lasted.”
“Other than you keeping him on his toes, why not?”
“He was one of those rich guys, a councilman’s son and thought he was all that and a bag of chips.” She laughed, but I was already feeling possessive of her.
My palms were sweating, I was so angry. About her past. That was telling as hell.
“I was just all excited about the big-time jock asking the book nerd to the prom. I have no idea what happened to him and I don’t care. At least I dumped Grant for being the same way.”
“Book nerd, huh?”
“Yep.”
“I would have killed him for dumping a beautiful woman like you.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I was furious they had.
“Oh, my dad was angry. So I do understand how you felt. Did your sister eventually listen or have the same horrible experience I did?” The beautiful woman who’d still been laughing when asking the question suddenly fell silent. “No. What happened?”
I looked down, still shifting the bottle back and forth in my hands before taking another long, half-bottle pull just to try to calm my nerves. After wiping my mouth, I couldn’t seem to look her in the eye.
Grace didn’t push me. She merely rubbed her fingers along my spine, trying in her subtle yet perfect way of telling me I could trust her. That I could let go of the guilt and anger.
“The guy was an asshole, just like I’d suspected. I mean a real asshole. One night, I was waiting up for her when she tried to sneak in and um, well…” Jesus. This was harder than when I’d told the police the whole story several times.
“He hit her.”
“Yeah, he’d hit her. A few times.”
“And you went nuts.”
“I tried, but she wouldn’t tell me who it was. She did all the usual things, telling me he wasn’t going to do it again.”
Her sigh was as heavy as mine had been. “But you invaded her privacy being her big brother. Right?”
“Yeah. She had a diary and you better believe I read it. Smart girl. She had it coded so I didn’t find out anything useful, but she knew I was watching her like a hawk. Anyway, things calmed down. Yet we couldn’t stop arguing. I told her to stop seeing him. She told me to stick it. I finally found out she was dating a state senator’s son.”
“Oh, no.”
